


And Into the Unknown

by showfrog



Category: Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon)
Genre: Hurt, Hurt Wirt, I am evil, Self-Sacrifice, Sorry Not Sorry, death and sadness, ehehehehheehh, no happy ending, slight suicidal thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-21
Updated: 2014-11-21
Packaged: 2018-02-26 10:49:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2649248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/showfrog/pseuds/showfrog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wirt decides that instead of having to watch Greg die, he'd take his place as the victim of the Beast.  He knew that Greg was more important, to his family, to everybody.  But did he really know anything?</p>
            </blockquote>





	And Into the Unknown

**Author's Note:**

> So I've seen Wirt surviving fics, but never Wirt's death fics, and decided that I had to write one because I'm a sadistic human being. I like my favorite characters being hurt/dead. I don't know why. It's a thing for me. Maybe because I've watched too many shounen animes '~'. So here it is-- my first fic! Didn't put that in the summary because it's really annoying when people do that. So scared to post this, but I'm hoping that it won't get a negative response, because I know there are some people out there that want Wirt hurt as much as I do. You have no idea how much research I had to do about hypothermia in this. Please enjoy my hard work, and if you have any suggestions, let me know via comments! I love learning new things about how to better myself/my writing. Thank you so much for reading!!

Wirt stared at his brother who was already nearly lost in vines.

“If I do this, then it will definitely save him?” he asked.

“Yes, definitely,” whispered the Beast enticingly. Wirt looked like he was about to cry.

“Then I will do anything.” 'Though', he thought, 'this is sort of a merry-go-round of a ride that we have here'. “Just please, please hurry. They need him.”

“It’s a deal,” said the Beast.

Wirt began desperately pulling at the limbs growing on Greg, savoring the feeling of being able to free his freezing brother.

 

 

When Greg woke, he, Wirt, and Jason were at the bottom of a large creek. He could see that when Wirt was still conscious and able to make decisions quickly, he had wrapped himself around Greg to try and protect him from the cold. While Greg wasn’t too confident of his swimming skills, he could see that this was an emergency, and deftly grabbed both of them while paddling up with a mighty effort. After what seemed like hours, they reached land. When Greg breached, his first observation was ‘I’m so cold,” and his second, after gathering the strength he had left to look up, was ‘there’s a light,’ which was all he got to before he passed out.

 

 

Cardiac arrest. Sara couldn’t believe it. Wirt was in cardiac arrest. 'He could die. Wirt could die. Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god.' She stood outside the hospital room hyperventilating as her world crashed around her. 'One of my best friends could die right here. Or is he more than a best friend to me? He never showed any feelings for me, but… Oh, we’re so mortal. It doesn’t matter to anyone if he lives or dies; just to a few misfits in high school.' She smiled to herself, then covered her eyes and started crying, thinking, 'Wirt would like that.'

When Wirt was found wrapped around Greg, Sara knew that this was serious. 'How could he possibly think of his brother while he was in cold shock?' But it sounded like the Wirt she knew. He’d always looked out for other people before himself, making sure that they were okay before focusing on his own feelings. She couldn’t even help drag them out of the creek. She was too focused on having her mental breakdown. 'Why? He never did anything wrong. He never did anything wrong… Please, please.'

They had gotten the two brothers out of the river as quickly as possible. They were literally blue and purple, absolutely looking on the verge of death. While Greg was still responding and appeared to just have passed out, Wirt was completely unresponsive. Sara had called 911 immediately, but it still took 5 minutes for them to arrive. The medical staff saw how urgent the situation was and loaded both brothers onto stretchers, taking a pulse and checking breathing for both of them. It was confirmed in a matter of seconds after getting on the ambulance that Wirt did not have a heart beat. Medical terms flew around, and the doors were promptly shut. The only term that Sara had recognized was ‘cardiac arrest,’ but it was enough to throw a huge flashing sign up in her brain.

Everybody piled into one car. Only one of the seven kids she had invited knew how to drive, but they made do. There was no talking. A couple people were crying, having heard the same word that she did right before they shut the doors. A few probably just didn’t care. She couldn’t believe she was hanging out with people like that.  'HOW DO YOU NOT CARE, YOU IDIOTS?!? MY FUCKING FRIEND IS ABOUT TO DIE, AND ALL YOU’RE DOING IS MAKING FACES AT EACH OTHER.'

It was apparent when they got to the hospital that the brothers’ parents had been called. A couple old enough to have children was weeping hysterically in the corner. They, too, couldn’t handle the thought that their happiness might suddenly be taken from them. Sara could relate.

 

 

 

Wirt’s mind raced as they walked down the beaten pathway that seemed to appear before him rather than to have been there all along. His thoughts mostly consisted of things like ‘I hope Greg is doing okay’ and ‘they’ll be okay without me; they needed Greg.’ The duo rounded the corner, moving at a slower and slower pace.

The Beast stopped suddenly, assuming that Wirt would respond just as quick, but in the snow storm his reflexes were failing him more than anything. He stumbled over his words, getting out only a bit of what he actually wanted to say. “Is this the place?”

“Yes,” the Beast replied in a pseudo-gentle tone. “The last part of this is easy. Just go to sleep.”

To Wirt, sleep sounded better than anything. He was an emotional wreck after being so close to losing his brother and deciding to take his place. Physically, he wasn’t much better, considering he had fallen into an icy river and passed out only a couple of hours ago. He was certain that the Beast was deluding him.

“This isn’t the deal we made! You said he would be safe if I did this!”

“He will be. A promise,” said the Beast, “is a promise. This is all you have to do. You’ve already saved him.”

Wirt was panting from the effort it had caused him to get angry. He wanted to say something along the lines of ‘thank God’ but didn’t think he could get it out. He just wanted to sleep.

 

 

 

Eventually a nurse came out and took them to a private room to tell them the situation. “Severe acute hypothermia in both patients. One patient, Greg, has two broken ribs, but they don’t seem to be impacting his breathing. It’s very likely that he will survive. While both brothers were able to overcome the initial shock of the cold water, Greg was the only one who managed to wake up before the cold sucked all of his body heat away. The other, Wirt,” Sara flinched, “was in a state of cardiac arrest when we found him. We managed to restart his heart, but he was in such a severe state of hypothermia that it’s very likely that he won’t survive the night. There’s only a 5% survival rate in patients who have entered cardiac arrest without immediate intervention, and an extremely small chance of his brain returning to normal functioning capacity if he does survive. He was found wrapped around his brother, presumably trying to conserve the younger one’s body heat. At the moment he is in a coma. I’m sorry,” said the nurse, and she actually did sound like she was, but it’s not like it meant much to Sara.

Not going to survive the night.

The brothers’ father covered his mouth as tears cascaded down his cheeks, while their mother looked stony-faced ahead in shock. Their happiness disappearing was no longer just a possibility-- it was a fact. And it was a fact that nobody in the room could bear.

 

 

 

Wirt lay down to rest against the stump of the tree. He still couldn’t believe the beast when he said that all he had to do was sleep. It seemed so easy. He knew it wasn’t though. It was a decision that meant leaving his family heartbroken, but he figured that they needed Greg more. He didn’t think this in a self-pitying way however; more like as a fact. He knew that Greg was more important, and didn’t hold any hard feelings towards him for it.

And so his family would survive without him. Sara would, he knew. She’d find someone who she actually deserved her, who could give her something better than poetry and a crappy clarinet concerto. He knew it would be alright.

And so, he slept, Edelwood vines slowly inching around him.

 

 

 

They were trying to resuscitate him, but after 30 minutes of CPR and no blood circulation, they had to call it.

Time of death: 6:47am.

 

 

 

The first thing Greg asked for was Wirt. Of course it was. He had saved him, right? He was a true leader now. He needed him. He needed his older brother.

No one responded.

Greg started to scream. “WIRT. GIVE ME WIRT,” over and over and over again. He was getting really scared. His voice instantly dropped down to a whisper. “Mama, where’s Wirt?” he asked, suddenly understanding the situation. He knew what Wirt must have done. But how could he? How could he leave him alone like that?! It was Wirt that mattered. Didn’t he use his wish so Wirt would live? He began to cry silently.

“Baby boy.” His mom rushed up to Greg, who was still barely conscious. “My baby boy,” she breathed. “What am I to do with you?” She smiled, trying to be happy for Greg, to make sure Greg was okay, but it looked more like a grimace considering the tear streaks down her face.

“Wirt.”

 

 

 

So many people showed up to the funeral. Even Jason Funderburker was crying, albeit loudly as to elicit more pity, but he truly was sad. No one understood the impact Wirt could have on people until he was gone. His funky bed head that he called a hairstyle, his beautiful poetry and artwork, his musical ability, and his extraordinary skill to make people laugh in the midst of despair were all gone.

The dirt was thrown on the coffin. People kept talking to Greg, saying his brother was in a better place now, but they didn’t know anything. 'Why?' he asked, knowing that no one would ever answer his question. Nonetheless, he couldn’t stop it from shaking his entire body from head to toe.

'Why.'


End file.
